(If you’re wondering what this has to do with the concept of prosperity, it’s simple: we cannot enjoy financial or any other type of prosperity when there is violence or deep unrest in our lives. Our planet and its people are not truly prosperous when some of us are killing and hurting others. We are all hurting ourselves as long as deep psychic wounds remain unhealed, and as long as they are passed from generation to generation instead of being dealt with at the level of cause rather than symptom.)

Do you want peace on earth? The real question is, are you willing to offer good will to ALL MEN in order to make peace a reality?

‘Who, me?’ you may say. ‘It’s the other guys who are creating wars, and acting in violent ways, and destroying lives, families and futures. Not me – I am a peaceful, good person and I certainly want peace on earth. If only those other guys would smarten up…it’s so sad.’

Are There Really Bad Guys?

The truth is, most of us are raised to WANT to perpetrate violence in retaliation for perceived or actual offences. Whether we want to do it ourselves (to hurt another in return for something they’ve done to us), or we want others to do it for us (have the police or the army or the government ‘get’ the bad guys), we live in a ‘might is right’ society and we are raised to try and protect our own little interests. Rarely do we see those other guys as tender, complex and important human beings just like ourselves, who want only the best for their families and who will vow revenge should something happen to them.

What happens in your mind when you get cut off intentionally by someone in traffic? Are there certain people in your life who rub you the wrong way? Maybe there are even folks who hurt you deeply and who you cannot stand the sight or the thought of…and what about the selfish jerks in your life? When you think about these people, do you offer them good will? Does your mind instantly forgive and do you smile with patience and love at their antics, as you would a child whom you adore? If this describes you, and there are no situations in which you feel anger, resentment or bitterness towards another human being, you are a truly aware and highly conscious individual, and it is my honour to have you reading here. You bring light and peace to us all. For the rest of us, it’s time we looked inside ourselves for our contribution to the level of peace in this world we all share.

If it’s difficult to forgive small grievances, imagine the power of collective grievances and deep cultural and religious hatreds, held by thousands or millions of people, and fueled by mass buy-in. The challenge is not a small one, but the trick, I think, is to tackle it person by person. If each of us can recognize the tendency toward separation and violence in our own hearts when it arises, we can choose to rise above it and to BE better; more loving, more open, more patient and tolerant and curious.

When we feel rage or intolerance towards another, THAT is where peace gets killed. This planet is full of people…individuals just like you and I, and each of us contributes collectively to the consciousness of the whole. The anger we feel at another is just like anyone else’s anger, and it all adds up. When we wish to seek revenge – whether it’s a small revenge like getting someone back for insulting us, or a huge vendetta against another culture for hurting our family or ancestors – we participate in the anguish of humanity. We perpetuate it and we continue creating it.

Have there not been times when you have made mistakes, and times when you’ve said or done things which now make you cringe? When you look back at your younger years, are there situations you’d like to do over, or wish you had handled differently? Perhaps you’ve hurt people – intentionally or otherwise – and perhaps you’ve been stupid and callous and selfish…and somehow you still manage to think you’re a pretty good person. You’ve grown, you’ve learned and you hope others will forgive you. Don’t others deserve those same missteps and the same forgiveness? Isn’t that rocky path an essential part of being human? There is always a reason behind another’s behavior, and there is always room for change and growth.

When we forgive, when we see that we are all the same, when we understand the actions of another because we’ve been there or we can otherwise empathise, we begin the process of healing. We can become connected and see through the veil of separation, and can raise our children to see beyond culture and race and all the other borderlines which have existed for far too long. Thoughts of hatred and revenge, no matter how petty, are poisons to us, both inside and out.

As within, so without…as long as we keep looking outside of ourselves for the solution, we will never find it, and never create it. As soon as EACH OF US takes responsibility for accepting each other as we are, for being tolerant and loving and for fostering connections instead of separation, we will begin to create our cherished ideal of PEACE ON EARTH.

Photo credit: NASA